Engineering skills and knowledge are foundational to technological innovation and development that drive long-term economic growth and help solve societal challenges. Therefore, to ensure national competitiveness and quality of life it is important to understand and to continuously adapt and improve the educational and career pathways of engineers in the United States. To gather this understanding it is necessary to study the people with the engineering skills and knowledge as well as the evolving system of institutions, policies, markets, people, and other resources that together prepare, deploy, and replenish the nation's engineering workforce.



This report explores the characteristics and career choices of engineering graduates, particularly those with a BS or MS degree, who constitute the vast majority of degreed engineers, as well as the characteristics of those with non-engineering degrees who are employed as engineers in the United States. It provides insight into their educational and career pathways and related decision making, the forces that influence their decisions, and the implications for major elements of engineering education-to-workforce pathways.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
Introduction
1 Characteristics of Engineers and the Engineering Workforce
2 Challenges for Engineering Education
3 Factors That Influence the Decision Making of Engineering Students and Graduates
4 Major Findings and Recommendations
Appendix A: The Engineering Education-Workforce Continuum
Appendix B: Glossary of Engineering Fields
Appendix C: Examining Postsecondary and Post-College Pathways of Engineering Students Who Start at Four-Year Colleges and Universities
Appendix D: Cobweb Model of the Engineering Labor Market
Appendix E: Advancing Our Understanding of Engineering Education Pathways, Employment Dynamics, and Economic Impact Through the Innovative Use of Administrative Data
Appendix F: Workshop Program
Appendix G: Biographies of Committee Members